Ifugao DSWD skeds training on culture of peace

BANAUE, Ifugao- The Ifugao Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) will hold a training on culture of peace on May 15 to 17 at the Halfway Lodge, in pursuit of the provincial government’s effort to promote family solidarity to its constituents. This will also strengthen the network and enhance partnership with other agencies and peace-oriented people’s organizations.

According to Elena Otgalon of the PSWDO, the training is a three-day activity that will be attended by at least 35 participants composed of the Ifugao Paternal Federation Officers (IPFO) and selected members as well as partners and point persons from different agencies.

Otlagon shared that in Ifugao, there have been reports of abuses inflicted on children, women, and men.

These abuses often lead to dysfunctional families and children are often the silent victims when peace and respect is no longer present in the family. Victims grow up carrying with them the negative effects or worst, they become the abusers repeating the cycle of violence, she explained.

The training, she said, will try to reinforce the experiences, wisdom and the inherent conflict resolution abilities of the participants especially the fathers who are culturally regarded as the head of families, empower the participants to promote and institutionalize culture of peace as a strategy in addressing violence in the home and in the larger society and to prepare a workable action plan.

Ifugao priest's lonely crusade against gambling

LAGAWE, Ifugao- Undaunted despite the seeming non-cooperation of the people and the half-hearted determination of local authorities to curb the proliferation of illegal gambling in this capital town, an Ifugao priest continues his crusade against this social vice and is winning ground.

Father Valentin Dimoc, Parish Priest of Lagawe and member of the Bontoc-Lagawe Vicariate of the Roman Catholic Church, scored a victory when he stopped the operations of several numbers games during the recently concluded municipal town fiesta celebration.

Seeing gambling games at the municipal ground in front of the Municipal Hall, Father Dimoc went to the Municipal Police Station headed by Inspector Aquino Bayangan to report the existence of the gambling activities such as ABC drop ball, “salisi” gambling, and other forms of gambling and requested their assistance to stop these operations.

Bayangan together with some police personnel accompanied the priest to the scene of the gambling operations but were told that operators were allegedly given permits by the municipal government to operate for the duration of the town fiesta and claimed they have paid fees for their operations.

With no permits to show, Dimoc went to the municipal to ask about the alleged issuance of the permits and discovered that there was really none so the gambling activities were stopped.

Fr. Dimoc started his crusade against gambling in Lagawe way back in 2009. He said many of those who gambling come from poor families and gambling is one of the root causes of broken families in Ifugao. He also observed that during fiestas or social occasions, people gamble and they even include the children and youth who at their tender age are already learning to gamble.

What kind of society shall we have if most of the people are addicted to gambling? There will be moral decay aside from the contributory incidence of criminality attributed to gambling so this evil vice must really stopped, he stressed adding he will not cease fighting it.

Ifugao mayor reiterates proper use slaughter house

LAGAWE, Ifugao- The mayor of this capital town reiterated the proper use of the municipal slaughter house for the general welfare of the consuming public.

Mayor Ceasario D. Cabbigat said the slaughter house will be utilized only for the slaughter of livestock intended for sale to the public and home consumption.

“Livestock for slaughtering shall enter in the stockyard from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will be confined for 6 to 12 hours before slaughtering and for the conduct of ante-mortem inspection,” he stated.

Cabbigat said that livestocks and carcasses of animals found infected with any of the zoonotic diseases and deemed unfit for human consumption during the inspection will be condemned outright, and be disposed properly with a condemnation receipt from the meat inspector.

Furthermore, all meats intended for public sale shall always be accompanied by a duly signed meat inspection certificate stating that the carcass had undergone ante-mortem and post mortem-inspection at the slaughter house.

Cabbigat explained that meat or meat products and carcasses of livestock and poultry that were slaughtered in accredited abattoir/poultry dressing plant with a meat inspection signed by meat inspectors shall be allowed to be transported from slaughter house to the point of destination.

Meat products and carcasses that entails two or more hours of travel time shall be transported in refrigerated and accredited van pursuant to the order of the National Meat Inspection Council to ensure the safety of said products.

The mayor stressed that illegally slaughtered animals found in the possession of meat traders and meat vendors would be confiscated and properly disposed by the meat inspector with the revocation of licenses of violators or be banned from engaging in business.

Cabbigat also informed that the municipal slaughter house should be closed from 6:00 a.m. up to the time of slaughtering, and to prevent contamination, the premises will be disinfected at least three times a month or when deemed necessary.

Ifugao town organizes technical working group for CBMS

ALFONSO LISTA, Ifugao- The Local Government Unit (LGU) here has organized the Technical Working Group (TWG) to update the community based monitoring system (CBMS) of the municipality.

Mayor Glenn Prudenciano said that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) adopted the CBMS as one of the strategies to localize the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that would fastrack development in the grassroot level.

“The local government code provides that LGUs assume the primary responsibility for the provision of basic services and facilities and the improvement of the quality of life of their constituents by achieving the MDG and addressing poverty at the local level,” Prudenciano stated.

Prudenciano stressed that to achieve the MDG, there’s a need to organize the municipal technical working group (MTWG) to conduct the CBMS to ensure that the main objective of the project will be attained.

The MTWG is composed of the department heads of the LGU, who spearhead logistical preparations for the conduct of trainings and other related programs and activities.

“The MTWG of the CBMS is also mandated to oversee the progress of the implemented projects and the reliability and validity of data gathered,” Prudenciano explained.

Ifugao to implement DSWD’s Government Internship Program this May

LAGAWE, Ifugao- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to implement its Government Internship Program (GIP) in this province this month of May with the finalization of the implementing guidelines.

According to Minda Romero of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, they already received the memorandum from the DWSD’s Cordillera Regional Office about the guidelines of the program for the start of its implementation but it was held in abeyance because it was found out that there are four child-friendly municipalities out of the 11 towns of the province that needed a different guideline.

She said the program will proceed once they receive the directive from DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman regarding the modification of the guidelines for the recruitment of youth applicants for the GIP based on the municipal allocation provided by the DSWD.

The GIP is a 52 days government internship program, which aims to initiate the youth in public service by acquainting and involving them with the new programs and projects of the government and consequently draw support and understanding towards them.

The program also serves as a recruitment mechanism for potential public employees of which the participants will be posted into a manpower reservoir from which, the government can draw regular workforce by the time they qualify for public employment.

The hired youths will be deployed to the different municipalities, centers, institutions, field offices, and projects centers of the DSWD to assist them in their implementation of the social protection programs of the DSWD as well as youth initiated activities in their municipalities at the same time earn income.

To qualify, the youth applicants must preferably be between 18 to 30 years old as proven by his or her birth certificate, single, in or out-of-school youths or college or vocational course graduates, who are unemployed.

The GIP is part of President Noynoy Aquino’s Administration to strengthen youth participation in nation building, expose them to government service, train them on life skills and contribute to their economic well-being. For the interns who will be admitted to the program, they will be provided with stipend that commensurate to the applicable minimum wage in the province.

Ifugao officials participate in a joint Congress-RDC consultation

LAGAWE, Ifugao-- A joint Congress-RDC (Regional Development Council) consultation dialogue was conducted in Baguio City yesterday for Ifugao province for better appreciation of regional autonomy and development among provincial and municipal key leaders.

Led by Governor Eugene Balitang, the members/secretariat of the Provincial Sub-Committee on IEC for Regional Autonomy and Development and as delegates from the private sector participated in said event.

Ifugao Congressman Teddy Baguilat Jr. and Dr. Virgilio Bautisita, the co-chairman of RDC-CAR were the main speakers who focused on the salient features of the House Bill 5595 and Senate Bill 3115 both seeking to establish regional autonomy in the Cordillera.

Among the salient features, which Baguilat explained include: why do the people want autonomy or self determination. “The resources should be used by the Cordillerans," he said, adding that, " the fight for self determination is borne out of the history of discrimination by lowlanders."

He also mentioned that the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) will still be part of the Philippines and the people shall uphold the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land.

Moreover, the national government shall provide financial support and assistance to the CAR by appropriating such sums as may be necessary to accelerate the development of the autonomous region on top of and aside from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) provided therewith and the local government units as well as the allocations already provided through the regional line agencies.

On the other hand, the exploration, development, and utilization of the region’s natural resources shall be consistent with the principles of sustainable development management systems and practices; the Regional Government shall promote good governance and transparency; Encourages the use of Indigenous languages and methods of education.

Mayor Glenn Prudenciano of Alfonso Lista commented on the structure of the regional government saying that the positions of a Regional Agriculture Officer and a Regional Environment and Natural Resources Officer should be included since the Cordilleras is mainly an agriculture land most of the issues in the region is on environment, which was noted by Baguilat.

IEC activities on autonomy are being pursued in the six provinces and two cities in the Cordilleras to ensure that all CAR provinces will favorably vote for regional autonomy.

The creation of an autonomous region in the Cordillera is provided for under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Ifugao mayors sign MOA in support to 4Ps

LAGAWE, Ifugao- Municipal officials of all towns here and the Provincial Governor signed recently a Memorandum Of Agreement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to support the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The MOA signing seeks to strengthen the interrelationship between the chief executives of the 11 towns here, the province and the implementing agency, DSWD, in the implementation of the government anti-poverty program.

In 2010, the program was piloted in the municipalities of Asipulo and Tinoc and was expanded to the municipality of Hungduan in 2011.

The municipalities of Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Banaue, Kiangan, Mayoyao have been identified to benefit also from the program, based on the 2003 Small Area Estimates (SAE) of the National Statistical Coordination Board, which showed that the towns have 34.55; 32.83; 31.10; 32.22; 35.40 poverty incidence, respectively.

In the 2012 scale up of the program, the municipalities of Lagawe, Lamut and Hingyon were included to benefit from the program, making all towns, 4Ps areas.

The number of household beneficiaries per town are as follows: Aguinaldo-1,381; A. Lista-1,477; Asipulo-965; Banaue-887; Hingyon-393; Hungduan-333; Kiangan-726; Lagawe-565; Lamut-1,083; Mayoyao-595; Tinoc-818.

The 4Ps is a program by the DSWD that aims to reduce poverty by providing qualified families conditional cash grants. The cash grants awarded by the program are as follows: P500 per month (for a total of P6,000 a year) per household for health and nutrition expenses P300 a month per child for educational expenses, or P3000 for one 10-month school year. Only a maximum of three children per household are allowed to receive stipends; a total of P1,200 a month for a household with three children.

Cash grants shall be awarded through a Land Bank cash card. If payments through cash cards are not feasible, other methods such as over-the-counter transactions or offsite payments through Landbank are available. These grants shall be received by the supposed most responsible family member, usually the mother.

11-Hour Power Interruption In Ifugao

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Thursday announced a scheduled 11-hour power interruption in the entire province of Ifugao on Tuesday, May 8.

The NGCP in its advisory said that the scheduled blackout would last between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., with the affected distribution utility (DU) being the Ifugao Electric Cooperative (IFELCO).

Causing the lengthy outage is the “Annual Preventive Maintenance and Testing” of power equipment at the Lagawe Substation and replacement of wooden poles and other line hardware along Solano-Lagawe 69-kV (kilovolt) line.

Lilibeth Gaydowen of the NGCP North Luzon Corporate Commu¬nications also served notice of two 30-minute power interruptions in parts of Nueva Vizcaya that is being serviced by the Nueva Vizcaya Elec¬tric Cooperative, Inc. (NUVELCO), on May 8.

Meanwhile, National Electrification Administration (NEA) Admin¬istrator Edita Bueno has ordered the Peninsula Electric Cooperative (PENELCO) to look into the reports that a whole community in Bataan has been deprived of electricity ser¬vices, contrary to President Aquino’s vision of electrifying the whole countryside.

Bueno said the PENELCO is now tasked to look into the petition of the 200-strong-member of the Roosevelt Environmental Livelihood Employ¬ment Skills Association (RELESA) led by its president Diosdado P. Arreza, Jr., and the Good Samaritan Neighborhood Association for the provision of electricity in their area.

Kiangan is Ifugao’s entry to search for most child-friendly municipality

KIANGAN, Ifugao- This municipality is the entry of Ifugao to the 2012 Regional Search for the Presidential Award for Most-Child Friendly Municipality in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Kiangan was chosen for being the only town in Ifugao to accomplish and comply with the minimum requirements needed in the contest pertaining to the local government units (LGUs) programs and projects regarding children welfare in the areas of planning and policy formulation, resources, service delivery on health and nutrition, education and social protection, institutionalized bodies for children and child participation.

Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) Head, Celestina Talosig, informed that Kiangan was able to fulfill the requirements of the contest because of the unyielding and untiring support of the local government unit , national government agencies and non-government organizations to serve and protect the basic rights of children in the municipality.

She said the role of the LGU revolved around provisions that reinforce and elaborate upon the four basic rights of children to survival, development, protection and participation that already reached a total population of 7,975 as of 2010.

The main core of survival rights is handled by the MSWDO and the Municipal Health Office providing pre-natal care, various health services, counseling on responsible and good parenting techniques and ensuring that parent’s provide for their child’s food clothing and shelter.

Development rights encompass the availability of education for the children and it is the responsibility of the parents and state to ensure that every child receives education, training and spiritual guidance that allows them to grow to their potential and beyond.

Programs for the welfare of children has been among the top priority thrusts of the Municipal Government of Kiangan having built 36 day care centers, 3 supervised neighborhood play centers, 48 elementary schools and 17 secondary schools.

Protection rights focused on the inherent responsibility of parents and state in shielding the child from harm and aside from the legal mandate of the LGU, the Philippine National Police, the halls of justice and parents have secured the safety of the children above all else.

Talosig added that the LGU implemented more child-based programs and has continuously provided innovative welfare activities to further their outreach and effectiveness and also organized two levels of councils to improve services for the children which are the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children and the Municipal Council for the Protection of Children.
Both councils are composed of influential personnel from various offices and areas inside Kiangan who work with the children so that the diversity of these councils allow for a multi-perspective look concerning the children and their needs on two similar but different levels focusing to reduce the number of children at risk.

The municipal officials led by Mayor Joselito Guyguyon said that they will continue their jobs to contribute making Kiangan a better place for children to live.